Swimming device



July 17,1928. 157-7254 I c. sPuRqEs v SWIMMING DEVICE Filed Sept. 12;.1927 45 L 1% L1 J fin 6 I l q l' 7 a 5 Inventor 67707186 LSpuryea;

Attorngy at v Patented duly 1 7, 1928.

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musse- SWIMMING DEVICE. I

Application filed September 12, 1927. Serial No. 219,035.

This invention relates to devices adapted for use by swimmers for thepurpose of enabling the swimmer to assist, himself in moving through thewater, and consists essentially, of a handle member having a pair ofhingedly mounted wings secured thereto and arranged to be open whenmoved 1n one direction and closed when moved in an opposite direction sothat upon the proper manipulation of the device the same may be used bya person for pulling himself through the water in a forward direction,or if desired, may be used for movement in a vertical direction in thewater whereby the action of the wings will operate to malntain theswimmer at the surface of the water.

An object of the invention is to provide an article of this character ofsimple and practical construction, efficient and reliable inperformance, of light weight, yet at the sametime strong and durable,inexpensive to manufacture, and otherwise well adapted for the purposesfor which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside 1n the special construction andcombination of the various elements of the invention, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this invention,wherein Figure 1 is a top plan view.

Figure 2 is an end ele-vational vlew, and,

Figure 3 is a side elevational view thereof.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the invention comprises a handlemember indicated at 5 having its lower ends of re duced area wherebyenabling the same to be conveniently gripped by a person, and -with itsupper end. flared as indicated at 6 whereby to provide means forattaching a pair of hinges 7 in spaced relation at each side of theflared portion of the handle by means of which wings 8 are secured ateach side thereof, with one edge of the wings extending longitudinallywith respect to the upper edge of the handle.

The surface of the wings when in a spread position are disposed at rightangles with respect to the handle and when arranged in folded positionare adapted to rest against the opposite sides thereof. Flexible straps9 connect the undersides of each wing with the handle whereby to preventthe Wings from moving beyond a position at right angles with respect tothe handles. As shown in Figure 2 of the drawings each wlng taperstoward its outer edge whereby to materially reduce the weight thereof.

The outer edge of one of the wings is provided with a section of canvas10 or other soft material so that upon the folding'of such wings in adirection toward the handle, the hand of the user will not be in juredbecause of'the contact therewith. its shown in Figure l of the drawingthe ad acent edges of the wings 11 are arranged in substantially closerelation with each other so that the pair of wings may com bine to forma relatively broad area whereby to offer a greater resistance when beingdrawn throu'gh'the water, the edges of each wing adjacent the handlebeing cut-away as shown at 12 in order to accommodate the same.

One end of the handle is provided with a site sides of the handle abovethe plane of the wlngs and the upper surface of each wing adjacent theheads of the rivet are provided with a metallic rib 14 adapted to engagethe underside of the heads of said rivet to prevent the separation ofthe Wings from the handle should one of the hinges accidentally becomebroken. 7

It will be apparent that the device is sus the appended claims orsacrificing any of its advantages, and I accordingly claim all rivet 13having its head extending at oppo- I such forms ofthe device to which Iam on titled.

I claim 1. A device of the class described, a handle member, a pair ofwings hingedly attached thereto, straps connecting the underside of thewings to thehandle limiting the outward movement of the wings and asection of relatively soft material provided in one ofsaid wings adaptedto prevent injury to the hand of the user upon contact with the wings.

Hill

2. A swimming device comprising a hanof resilient material provided inone of said die member, a pair of rigid wings hingedly Wings anddisposed 1n position tor contact attached at opposite sides thereof withtheir With the hand of the user, upon the inward 10 7 adjacent edges inclosely spaced parallel movement of the wings.

5 relation, straps connecting the under side of In testimony whereof IafliX my signathe Wings to the handle limiting the outture. wardmovement of the Wing, and a section CHARLES SPURGES.

